Discusses three interlocking areas associated with effectively and accurately conveying information about school performance to the public: (1) graphical display; (2) nonrandomly gathered data; and (3) statistical adjustment. Illustrates these points with historical data, including test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress…

Redesigned five displays for communicating results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 reading assessment using principles developed by H. Wainer (1997). Responses from 10 educators show more accurate and faster responses to questions asked after the redesign. Discusses implications for information communication in…

A trilinear chart for understanding the distribution of achievement levels of students' performance in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is described and its use illustrated with data from the 1992 state NAEP mathematics assessment. Trends for all 44 participating jurisdictions are simultaneously displayed. (SLD)

Understanding the distribution of achievement levels of students' performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is aided through the use of the trilinear chart. This chart is described and its use illustrated with data from the 1992 state NAEP mathematics assessment. The trilinear chart is used to portray three variables…

Four guidelines that make tables more effective data displays are presented. The need for these guidelines and their application are illustrated with data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). A theoretical structure is presented to help develop test items to assess students' proficiency in extracting information from…

Education lags behind other scientific disciplines in its effective use of data displays. An example is provided in which the reorganization of data from two bar graphs into one table highlights the obvious and subtle results. To address the need for effective data display, the companion article, "Understanding Graphs and Tables," was…

Three historic examples demonstrate the vital role data displays (graphs and tables) have played in important discoveries. Levels of information that form the basis of a theory of display are described, and steps to improve the quality of tabular presentations in educational writing are outlined. (SLD)